


be(lie)ve

by townshend



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dirty Talk, Gunplay, Hair-pulling, M/M, Power Dynamics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-06
Updated: 2013-08-19
Packaged: 2017-12-22 15:26:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/914851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/townshend/pseuds/townshend
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Souji had promised the team that he wouldn't go back to the TV world and try to face Adachi alone...but one little peek couldn't hurt, could it? After all, there was something about Adachi that Souji had to try desperately to understand, something the others wouldn't give him the chance to discover.</p><p>As long as he was careful, everything would be fine.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 12/7 (night)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mmmdraco](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mmmdraco/gifts).



> I really really hope you don't mind the length! ;; I got extremely carried away. Please enjoy!

It was quiet in the house that night - Nanako and Dojima were both still in the hospital, and without any rain, the only sound was the house creaking under the gentle breeze outside.

Souji had tried to make himself something to eat, but he couldn't stomach the food, and ended up packing it into his lunchbox to take to school tomorrow. After that, all he could do was go upstairs, pacing the space in his room between the window and TV set.

He'd promised everyone he wouldn't go into the TV without them. It wouldn't be right, and it definitely wouldn't be safe. They'd all been working hard to get to this point, and now the end was in sight, and no matter how personally betrayed Souji had felt, as he stood outside Aiya Diner that night beside Naoto and felt the creeping horror of the realization that Adachi was their culprit coming over him, he couldn't just charge in without his team members there with him. They were as deeply involved with this as Souji was, after all.

But they didn't know Adachi. Souji had gotten to know plenty of people over the course of his time in Inaba - classmates, friends, even people from his part-time jobs - but Adachi had been different (at least, as far as adults go). Souji saw him quite a bit, hanging around town - Adachi would almost always be walking around the shopping district at night when Souji was catching the bus to a part-time job, or wandering Junes to shirk off work, and since they ran into each other so often, it was only natural that Souji had gotten to know him. 

In that time, Adachi had almost endeared himself to Souji - it was a little strange, but it had been nice to get to know someone that he normally wouldn't. It became clear that Adachi had had a unique outlook on life, in the rare moments that he'd opened up, and Souji had a hard time forgetting the nights he had come over, without Dojima there at all, and eaten dinner with him and Nanako, only to end the night showing them both silly magic tricks and making stupid jokes. They'd always made Nanako laugh...and now Souji was expected to believe that that same man was responsible for that girl's near-death? It made his stomach turn. He just couldn't understand why, and how - what, in Adachi's logic, had twisted to allow these things to have happened?

It was something he had to understand, and something he'd never find out with everyone by his side. The rest were ready to shoot first and ask questions later, and Souji wondered what it meant about him, but he wanted desperately to hear what Adachi had to say.

Souji suddenly checked his wristwatch. It was late - but if he hurried, he'd be able to make it to Junes before they closed. He wasn't sure how he'd get _out_ , or how he'd lead himself around successfully without Teddie or Rise, but he wasn't exactly thinking that far ahead. He was pretty sure he knew the way to that room, at least. He'd think about the rest later.

The only jacket Souji had lying out was his school jacket, and he pulled it on without thinking, heading quickly down the stairs and towards the entryway. He slipped into his shoes and stepped out the door, locking it behind him. It quiet outside, the streets were practically deserted, and he walked swiftly towards Junes before he could think better of it and turn around to head home. When he got there, the store was almost closing, but he stepped in anyway, making his way towards the back where the electronics department was located.

Unsurprisingly, nobody was around. Souji stared at the group's normal TV - a large display model flatscreen - in a queasy sort of trepidation.

He'd come this far. He wanted the opportunity to question Adachi on his own, and this was likely the only time he'd ever get to do it.

Moving quickly, Souji stepped into the TV world, letting himself fall in. He was so used to this by now that the rough landing he, Chie, and Yosuke had experienced the first time felt like a distant memory - but it was hard not to think of now, as he made his way to the same room they'd discovered the first time they were there.

The heavy, uncomfortable feeling in the air was still there. Otherwise, the room was unsettlingly silent. Souji stood there for a moments, hands shoved into his pants pockets, staring into the red and black shifting vortex. There was no way he was stepping through that right now.

Adachi had to be able to feel that he was there, but for long, agonizing moments, nothing around him moved at all.

Then, suddenly, just as he was thinking of calling out, the vortex entrance in front of him disappeared.

"Well," Adachi's voice said, drawing the word out - the voice was coming from behind him, by the doorway, and Souji turned quickly on his heel, his teeth gritting together. "This is a problem."

 _As if_ , Souji thought. _You practically called me here!_

There was the sound of a click, a shift, and another, heavier click, coming from just behind his head, and Souji's breath suddenly stopped. Adachi had thrown his voice, or ...the power he had in this world had allowed him to, anyway, because the doorway was empty, but it was undeniable that someone was standing just behind him, and Souji knew those clicks had been the sound of a gun. He could feel the cold metal of the barrel pressing against the back of his ear as Adachi shifted again, making the threat more chilling.

"Why didn't you bring the rest of your little friends?" Adachi asked. Then, faking a disappointed tone, "You're such a killjoy, Souji. Couldn't even bring your wannabe-detective pal along?"

Souji didn't move - there was a gun leveled on him, and he thought he knew Adachi well enough to assume he'd have no qualms using it if Souji did anything out of line. It wasn't a gamble he was willing to take on a man who'd proven himself to be completely unlike what Souji had thought of him. Adachi had already killed, even if those kills had been more passive than this.

Finally, Souji swallowed, trying to moisten the dryness in his throat.

"I came alone," he said, which was obvious - Adachi would know if he'd brought anyone else. He'd be able to feel their presence. Souji didn't know the extent of Adachi's power in this world, but it was safest to assume the worst. "I need to talk to you."

"What?" Adachi's tone was incredulous, then he laughed, just a little - it was quiet, different from the laughter he'd used in the Dojima family living room when Nanako had been wildly impressed with his magic tricks and begged to see them again. "Did you come here thinking you could _change my mind_? Don't kid yourself." A rustling of clothes, and Souji could sense that Adachi had lowered the gun pressed almost against his ear - Souji used that opportunity to spin around again, turning towards where Adachi had been - but he was gone.

When Souji heard his voice again, it was to his left, and when he turned, Adachi was sitting in the chair underneath that hanging noose, casual, his legs crossed one over the other, holding his gun like it was the most natural thing in the world. What was important, though, was that the gun wasn't pointed at Souji. Souji would have relaxed if he thought he could afford it.

"The whole gang should be here," Adachi complained, looking bored. "You all should be doing the 'good guy' schtick. Y'know, work together, beat the bad guy, talk about the power of love and friendship...all that lame bullshit. You guys love that stuff, right?" He made a point to roll his eyes. Souji only watched him carefully, not showing any kind of reaction on his face. This meeting felt like more of a theatrical production than a conversation.

"I believed in you, you know," Souji said, suddenly, trying to steer the conversation away from Adachi's monologue and back towards the reason he'd come in the first place. "I believed in the person I thought you were."

Adachi's eyes widened for a moment, and then his face twisted in amusement, eyebrows narrowing downwards, the corners of his mouth lifting up.

"Oh really?" he asked. "What was it about me that made you want to _believe_ in me so bad?"

Souji grit his teeth - Adachi paused long enough to make it clear he actually did want an answer, but Souji wasn't going to feed in to such a leading question and kept his lips firmly pressed shut. With no answer, Adachi continued, unbothered, launching into his next monologue. The inertia of it forced him up out of his chair, onto his feet, the gun still clasped dangerously in his hand.

Adachi had always been a talker, but never about topics like this.

"Well?" He took a step towards Souji - Souji wondered if he was supposed to back down. He didn't. Adachi sighed, frowning. "If you don't have anything to say to me, then I don't have anything to say to _you_. You think you can come here, all by yourself, and say big words to make me think about the things I've done. Please. If crime could be ended by appealing to people's morality, we wouldn't need the police. The 'me' you're saying you believed in never existed, Souji. He was just a version of me that you created in your head. Not that I can say I don't appreciate the effort." He smiled a little - a sardonic sort of smile that made Souji's stomach twist. "You decided on your own to believe in that 'me', and that decision betrayed you. It's your own fault, so why complain about it to me?"

But what Adachi was saying wasn't right, it wasn't true. "That's not the case," Souji said, suddenly. Adachi blinked, obviously surprised at being interrupted.

"Is that so?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "And what makes you say that?" He took a step closer, and Souji was reminded suddenly of the gun still in his hand.

Souji had no idea what he was doing. Having Adachi bearing down on him, only steps away, in a place where nobody would be coming after him, in a place he wasn't even supposed to be, was horribly uncomfortable. The only thing he could allow himself to do was to turn his head, just slightly, staring at the floor just past Adachi's feet rather than directly at Adachi himself.

"You created that person for me to believe in," Souji spoke, slowly, his words filled with as much force as he could manage. "We ate dinner together, talked together, you even had fun with Nanako. You did all of those things yourself. You created that person."

Adachi laughed - a short sort of snort, turning his eyes down. "You say the dumbest shit," he murmured. "Are you trying to convince me that that's the 'real me' and make me go back to it? It's people like you who think they can come to me alone and 'turn me around' that piss me off the most."

"No. That's not why I'm here," Souji said, quickly. Adachi seemed surprised, then his expression dimmed - his eyes narrowed, and he focused his gaze on Souji's face. The look felt heavy; Souji wanted to squirm out from under it, but he managed to keep his cool. He'd said something that had caught Adachi's attention, and he needed to keep it up.

"Oh yeah?" Adachi asked. "Why, then? Why are you here?"

The pressure was on, now. Souji swallowed, suddenly very aware of how dry his mouth and throat were. "Because," he said, "I want to know who you really are."

Adachi was quiet for a moment before he suddenly laughed - once, twice, and then a whole string of them, bubbling up out of his chest and past his lips. He reached back with his free hand, clasping the back of the chair for support as he bent over. "Do you really?" he asked, finally, casting his gaze sideways towards Souji. There was something new in his eyes, now, something wild - Souji could feel he was getting closer and farther from the truth simultaneously, and he wondered suddenly if even Adachi knew who he really was. Souji stood, motionless, his stomach churning uncomfortably, waiting out Adachi's sudden storm. "Do you think you can do that?" Adachi shook his head, his hair moving to cover his gaze. "Do you think you can handle it?"

With that, Adachi righted himself, hand still on the back of the chair, and watched Souji, coolly. The expression on his face was suddenly very different than it had been just moments ago - detached, almost blank, clearly sizing Souji up. It was silent for a long moment, before, finally: "Why?"

Souji wasn't sure what to say. He knew he needed to respond, but he wasn't sure why, himself. He'd spent this entire year searching out the "truth", and now everyone thought they knew it all - but was just knowing who'd started all of this really enough? Souji wasn't satisfied. This case had seeped into every day of his life here in Inaba - he'd had to work so hard on everything else just to be able to have the time necessary to dedicate to it, and even when he had been trying to study, or cook dinner, or help Nanako with the laundry, or do his nighttime jobs, the case was always there, gnawing away at him. Something that had been so serious, so at the forefront of his mind...just knowing "who" wasn't enough.

He was taking too long. Adachi was getting impatient. With a sigh, Adachi took a step closer, but his expression didn't change. "If you won't say what it is about me that made you 'believe' in me, then tell me what it is about me that makes you want to know me, kid." He paused, thinking. "Or are they the same thing?"

Souji frowned. Adachi watched him for a moment, then the corners of his mouth twisted up into a strange sort of smile. He suddenly raised his gun, leveling it on Souji, the barrel pointed directly towards his face. Adachi was less than five feet away - the proximity and the threat of the action made Souji's heart pound.

"What do you think will happen if I shoot you?" It was clear this was another question that demanded a prompt answer - Souji wasn't about to hesitate with words when a gun was pointed at him. Would Adachi really shoot him? It seemed unlikely, but Souji didn't know for sure.

"You'd commit one more crime," he said, quietly. Adachi blinked, then nodded.

"You're right," he said. "That's all it would be." But something stopped him - he slowly lowered the gun, watching Souji carefully. "Maybe you're not as boring on your own as I thought. You want to know the real me, huh? You can't infer it from everything I've said? Don't tell me you're still trying to figure out 'why'. Didn't I already tell you that?"

It was true - when they'd all confronted Adachi earlier that day, Yukiko had demanded he tell her why. Adachi had said a few things - there was no reason, or he did it because he "could", and because it was "fun". Yukiko and Yosuke had been quick to swallow that line, but they didn't know Adachi at all. Souji just couldn't buy it. Even if it was "fun", what would make it fun to someone to cause such chaos and violence? And those things Adachi had said about the fog leaking out, the two worlds merging, the TV world becoming reality...he'd called that his "goal". Even if they caught Adachi here, there was no saying that would stop whatever was already in motion.

"I want to know the real reason," he said.

"You want me to keep talking? But why would I do that?" Adachi shook his head. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were trying to distract me while your little team swoops in."

Suddenly, there was a loud tearing noise just behind him - Souji couldn't help but turn, even if that meant putting his back to Adachi. The sound had been the portal returning - the wall looked as if it had crumpled in on itself, like torn paper, leaving a swirling vortex of black and red behind it. When Souji spun again, trying to face Adachi, he discovered Adachi wasn't there.

He'd disappeared. Souji cursed under his breath.

"Alright, kid," Adachi said - his voice hung in the air, disembodied, not coming from anywhere specific. How was Adachi doing this particular magician routine? Could a Persona really give him this kind of ability? Had Adachi faced his "other self"? If that was the case, it seemed he'd embraced it a little too enthusiastically... "If you want me to talk, I'll talk. But not for free. Let's see you earn it. Come in all by yourself - just like tonight - and show me what you're made of. Then I'll talk. After all, I owe you that much, right?" He laughed, and then, the room was silent again.

Souji stared at the vortex, chewing on his bottom lip in thought. He knew this was a terrible idea. There were sure to be shadows beyond that point, just as there had been in every other strange place he'd been in in this world. He'd needed his friends' support then - he couldn't possibly think of conquering something like this alone.

But the others would never allow something like this. Yosuke in particular would want to cut Adachi down as fast as possible before he could get another word out, and Kanji would be close behind him. It would be impossible to convince them to listen to what Adachi had to say - and Adachi probably wouldn't say anything to them, anyway. He'd know his words would be wasted.

This was all something he could think about later. Staying in this world too long was never a good idea. Souji turned from the room, heading down the walkway and towards the exit.

Luckily, the stack of TVs was still there. Souji pressed his hand against it, and soon, he was being sent back to the other side.

The real world.

If what Adachi had said was true, then soon the distinction between the two would be nonexistent. This discomforting thought followed Souji all the way home, and when he'd finally spread out his futon and gone to bed, he tossed and turned with unpleasant, vague dreams all night long.


	2. 12/8 (day)

It was Thursday - the middle of the week. Souji rolled out of bed on time - sleeping in was useless when he hadn't really gotten any sleep to begin with. He slipped into his school uniform and headed downstairs - it was so surreal to be alone in this house; even if Dojima was swamped with work, he'd usually always been there in the mornings, making coffee, while Nanako watched the weather report with care, hurriedly packing her own lunch. This morning, when Souji's foot came off the last step and he stood in the living room, the house was silent.

As he grabbed his bag and pulled on his shoes, stepping out of the house, all he could think about were the things Adachi had said the night before.

Souji let his feet carry him to Yasogami High School without thinking about it - he'd been in Inaba long enough that he knew his way all around town and could get to and fro and let his mind wander. He'd adapted to life in Inaba quickly...it was hard to believe that he'd be leaving in just a few months.

He was so stuck in thought that he almost didn't see Yosuke, standing and fiddling with his music player just outside the school gates. Yosuke's face lit up a little on seeing Souji, and he lifted a hand in a wave.

"Hey there, partner," he said, falling into step beside Souji as they walked onto the school grounds proper. There was the buzz of hurrying students all around them, and their conversation safely melted into the white noise background. Given the thick fog, Souji almost couldn't even see the people around him, but Yosuke walked close enough that his expressions were easy to read. Yosuke looked a little sheepish, brushing a hand through the back of his hair and messing it up. "Man, I gotta admit...I stayed kinda late at Junes last night, and I peeked into the electronics department in between stocking—"

Souji raised an eyebrow - he was worried he'd been caught, and Yosuke was going to admonish him, but Yosuke just shrugged his shoulders, smiling with embarrassment. "To tell you the truth, I wondered if maybe I'd see you there, trying to sneak off to the TV world on your own, but...I didn't see anything. I should probably do a better job trusting you, huh?" He swung his bag over his shoulder, frowning. "I mean, it's not that I wouldn't understand you wanting to check it out, but..."

"Sorry I made you worry about me," Souji said, trying his best to smile. Yosuke laughed, pushing a hand against Souji's shoulder - Souji almost stumbled, taken a little off-balance.

"Jeez, don't say stuff like that, dude," he teased. "People might start to talk." Souji shook his head - for just a moment, he'd forgotten the situation he was in, with Adachi and the TV world and the lie (by omission) that he'd just told Yosuke, but as soon as they'd moved past the shoe lockers and settled into their classroom, it came back.

There seemed to be a heavy sort of feeling in the air - between Yukiko, Chie, and Yosuke, it was probably because of Adachi, and the heavy task before them; but between their classmates, Souji could hear nervous whispering about exam results being posted that day - not to mention the growing levels of near-hysteria due to the enclosing fog. As Kashiwagi walked in, ready to start class, Souji took out a notebook and his textbook, trying to focus his thoughts on school.

It was no good. Even as he tried to mindlessly take notes on his teacher's rambling, off-topic lectures, his thoughts wandered again and again back to the night before. Adachi had said he'd "talk" if Souji had come back and fought - whether he'd meant fought _him_ or just Shadows, he hadn't been clear - but there wasn't any guarantee Adachi would hold up his end of the bargain or just planning some kind of elaborate trap. Souji couldn't trust someone he didn't know at all, could he?

The thought made his pencil lead snap, and he glanced down in surprise - he'd been pushing hard on the paper, his letters indenting the page.

"Ah, Souji-kun, you look like a good person to ask," Kashiwagi said, her voice irritatingly high-pitched as usual. Souji flushed - usually, he was good at paying attention in class, but he had no idea what she'd been talking about. He quickly stood from his chair anyway, cursing his inability to leave thoughts of Adachi outside of the classroom. "Tell me, Souji-kun, how can you turn the sentence 'She went to the park' into the subjunctive form?"

English. Thank god, English was his strong suit - which was good, because both Yosuke _and_ Chie were giving him a hopeless look, which made it clear they wouldn't be able to help.

"Er— 'She wants to go to the park'," he said, and Kashiwagi smiled, nodding.

"Good. Of course, that one's tricky, since 'to go' is an irregular verb. But we studied the present-tense subjunctive last week, Souji-kun. Do you know the past tense version?"

All eyes were on him, and Souji stumbled, trying to think quickly. "Ah, it's... 'She wanted to have gone to the park'..." That sounded clunky and imperfect to his ears, but Kashiwagi's face broke out in a wide smile.

"Very good! Everyone should pay attention to Souji-kun. Learning English properly can open a lot of doors in life! But some of you seem to think you can learn English just to flirt with cute American tourists... Well, dream on!" She turned towards the board, beginning to write Souji's sentence down, and Souji slowly slid back into his chair, relieved. "Hardly anyone comes all the way to Inaba! Besides, there are mature, beautiful women right here in town who are more than enough for you!"

"Gross," Yosuke muttered, wincing.

"Plenty of people come to Inaba," Yukiko whispered, frowning. "Anyway, good job, Souji-kun!"

"Yeah, nice one." Yosuke winked, giving a thumbs up. "I thought you were a goner up there."

Souji smiled, trying to jot the notes down. _"She wanted to have gone to the park"... "She would have wanted to go to the park"... "She will want to go to the park"..._

For a few minutes, his thoughts were successfully on schoolwork. By the time class was taking a break and the test results were posted, he was so distracted that the news that he'd gotten the highest score in the class actually got through to him.

"As expected of our leader!" Chie cried, pumping her fist in the air. "We should go out and celebrate!"

"I don't think I want to celebrate this," Yosuke moaned, staring at the bulletin board. "My dad's gonna kill me."

"We shouldn't be celebrating anything just yet," Yukiko reminded them, turning away from the board. "We can all celebrate once Nanako-chan's okay." She gave Souji a sympathetic smile. "She'll be really proud of you, I'm sure."

"Jeez, way to be even more of a downer," Yosuke complained, crossing his arms. "But I guess you're right. It's no surprise our grades suffered, we've been trying to save everyone, after all!" He glanced at Souji, frowning. "Well, I guess you managed somehow, partner."

"Souji-kun's just awesome, someone like you shouldn't compare yourself to him," Chie said, waving her hand back and forth with a knowing nod. Yosuke sighed, nodding too.

"Yeah, I guess you're— hey, wait a second! What do you mean, 'someone like me'?!"

Souji could only laugh - Yosuke and Chie continued their (mostly-friendly) bickering all through lunch, Rise cooed, impressed over her "sempai"'s high scores, and Kanji assured everyone the school was lucky he'd even bothered to take the exams, but looked a little embarrassed as Naoto tried to go over some of the questions he remembered with him. It was...a perfectly normal day, even if they _were_ trying to eat surrounded by thick fog, even if they all knew they had to have a serious confrontation soon, even if they had all come to understand that in saving Inaba (or maybe even their entire world) they'd be risking their lives. In moments like these...Souji wanted to understand Adachi even more. After all, Adachi had laughed like this, joked over a shared meal, shared (small) secrets...and none of that had been real. At least, if it had, Souji didn't understand _how_.

"That reminds me," Yosuke said (Souji hadn't been listening, too spaced out, so he had no idea _what_ had reminded Yosuke), "are we going in the TV world today, partner? I mean...maybe it seems soon, but...I know we all want to try to end this as soon as we can."

Everyone was watching Souji carefully - he was used to everyone looking at him for guidance, but for some reason, this time, it seemed a little difficult to withstand. He looked down at his lap, frowning.

"I don't think we should charge in so quickly," he said, slowly. "Time is of the essence here, but...if we don't take this slow and pace ourselves, we'll make mistakes. We still need to go after him soon, but...not today. Let's give Adachi a day to sweat it out, or two."

It was quiet around the table, until Naoto spoke up.

"I agree. Adachi-san is expecting us to jump in immediately, guns blazing, so to speak." Naoto smiled just a little. "Right now, we're the ones in control of the situation. We should take time to think everything through. Every movement we make will have lasting consequences."

Yosuke frowned, snapping his lunchbox shut. "Yeah," he said, leaning back, looking up into the fogged-over sky. "I guess that makes sense. It's not like he can get away or anything."

"I just wanna charge in there and give that guy a piece of my mind," Kanji said, his voice harsh. "But, uh...I guess that's why you're in charge and not me."

"Maybe we can go this weekend," Yukiko suggested, and Souji found himself nodding a little too enthusiastically.

It felt terrible, deceiving everyone like this. Now would be the time when he should tell them all about his error in judgment the night before, and what had happened, and what Adachi had said - but he couldn't. He still needed them all, he told himself. He still relied on them, and they'd still all go together to resolve everything. There were just some things he had to resolve on his own.

The rest of the school day crawled by - history, math, literature. Souji did his best to concentrate, but he was already trying to plan the rest of his day. He needed to decide, for good, what he was going to do.

Once the final bell rang and class was officially dismissed, Souji packed everything back into his bag and stood, stretching arms over his head. Chie had already jumped up out of her chair, leaning against her desk, hands planted on the surface.

"Hey, Souji!" She grinned, calling to get his attention. "You wanna come get steak skewers with Yukiko-san and me?" Yukiko blinked, as if this plan was a surprise to her, but gave a sort of confused smile either way.

"Ah...I can't today." Souji gave her an apologetic look as Chie visibly sagged. "Sorry— it's just, I'm the only one in the house, so...taking care of all the chores is on my shoulders."

Chie looked surprised, then suddenly sad. "Oh, man— I can't believe I didn't think of that. I'm sorry!"

"We could come over and help, if you'd like," Yukiko said. "That's...probably a better use of time."

"Food is a good use of time!" Chie argued. "Ooh, but...Yukiko-san's right. If you need any help, just say the word and we'll come to the rescue! Yukiko and Chie, Super Maids!" Chie struck a sort of complicated-looking pose - probably a stance she'd seen in an overdone martial arts movie.

"Don't say it like that..." Yukiko flushed, looking embarrassed.

"It's okay." Souji smiled a little, amused in spite of himself. "I have some free time, so...it's best to keep myself busy. And I wouldn't want to trouble you guys."

"Well...give us a call if it turns out to be too much for you, okay?" Chie relaxed into a more normal standing position. When Souji nodded in agreement, the two girls said goodbye and left, Souji just a few steps behind them. He lingered a little longer than normal at the shoe lockers, tying his sneakers onto his feet.

This wasn't the smartest thing he'd ever done. But if Adachi wanted to see the power of Souji's Persona... Souji would show it to him. Not everything, of course - he'd keep the nature of his "true power" to himself.

Souji headed straight to Junes from school - with Dojima and Nanako in the hospital, nobody would be expecting him home tonight.


	3. 12/8 (night)

The trip to the strange, corrupted room was just as disorienting and unpleasant as it had been the last time. Souji felt uncomfortable walking the scape of the TV world by himself. When he reached the room with the chair and noose, the portal was open, and Souji stood in front of it for a long moment, uncertain.

He'd come this far. He'd spent all day thinking and re-thinking and over-thinking ( _definitely_ over-thinking) this moment. Sucking in a breath, Souji stepped in.

Usually, when they entered someone's personal space, the red-and-black striped vortex disappeared eventually and opened up into a different landscape - a castle, a bathhouse, a fortress, or any number of other things - but Adachi's did not. Souji had been roughly deposited on a broken, crumbling patch of road - and not well-maintained road, either. The ground seemed solid, but it didn't _look_ particularly sturdy - the road had been patched and covered in places, and yellow and white stripes that usually signified street directions seemed to stop and start in places that didn't make any sense. The walls, if they could even be called that, seemed to curl up and in, a twisted mass of haphazard concrete, metal, and plastered posters. Most of them were unreadable, but Souji could definitely recognize the police tape, stretched across here and there, almost like a decoration. He'd seen this same kind of tape the day the first body had been found, and it made his stomach turn to think about it.

The walls didn't curl up far enough to provide any kind of ceiling, though - all up and around and over him, the moving black-and-red vortex stretched into infinity, radiating everywhere.

Souji quickly got to his feet, trying to brush his uniform off. The ground beneath him was so dirty he was sure he was covered in dirt and dust. After a moment, he cast his eyes around, gaze narrowed, looking for any sign of Adachi. Did the man know he was here? Could Adachi have even lasted a night in this place? He had said the Shadows didn't attack him, but...that was hard to believe.

Just as Souji was beginning to doubt himself, he heard a sudden burst of laughter.

In this space, much larger than the tiny room they'd come from, Adachi's voice seemed to have more weight. Souji didn't like the way it made him feel at all.

"Wow. I gotta say, I'm impressed. I didn't think you'd actually come. Actually— I'm not impressed at all. Maybe 'surprised and pitying' is the right phrase. You came all the way out here because of some vague thing I said - don't you have anything better to do? Or do you really care about this 'truth' of yours that much?" He laughed again - something in that laugh struck Souji, piercing right through him. "You decided to march in here like a good little soldier and fight for that truth, huh? You're like a kid playing super sentai. You're a student in the 'prime of your life', y'know? You should be studying, or getting a girlfriend. It's not like you don't know _plenty_ of girls."

"You said you wanted to fight," Souji called. He didn't know exactly where to aim his voice, so he just...yelled. "So let's fight."

"I didn't say that." Adachi had that tone of mock-surprise in his voice, condescension evident. "You're not a very good listener."

Souji growled, gritting his teeth. He was ready to find the exit, give up on all of this, and come back in a few days with everyone in tow - but just as he turned to try to leave, he realized every path he could see around him was blocked. Thick walls of police line tape stretched across everything, leaving him trapped.

"I think I'll keep you around for a little while, Souji-kun," Adachi said, his voice quiet and cold but perfectly perceptible. "You should have stayed at home with your little friends. How do you expect to escape when I'm the one pulling all the strings? I can do this forever - or, at least until it doesn't matter any more."

Souji could feel a mixture and panic and anger rising in his chest and he was quick to tamp it back down. Adachi wanted to get a reaction out of him, but it wasn't going to be that easy. If Souji kept his cool and played the (few) cards he had, he had a chance of scooting through this on his poker face alone.

It was a slim one, but it was a chance.

"Is that really what you want?" he asked. "To trap me here? Wouldn't that be boring?"

It was quiet for a long moment - Souji wondered if perhaps Adachi wasn't going to answer. Then, finally: "Maybe you understand something after all. There might be hope for you yet."

That voice had been just behind him - he was sure of it. Souji spun around, gasping, but Adachi wasn't there.

There was a Shadow there, instead. From somewhere, Adachi's voice laughed, ringing in his ears.

"Hoping to see me?" he asked. "No way. The only thing you deserve to fight against is Shadows."

It was a big monster - almost twice his height, resembling a bloated, fat police man dressed in a white uniform that clung to his skin. He looked waterlogged - his skin was blue and puffy, covered in bulging veins in some places. His cheeks seemed to hang down unnaturally, and the shade of his hat covered his eyes. He didn't look human. In one hand, he held a comically small (comparatively) handgun - but small or not, Souji was sure a shot from it would hurt.

His stomach had been hallowed out, leaving a gaping hole behind, and inside, there was a hanging brass key. The Shadow quivered, shifting from foot to foot, all heavy, distorted weight moving rhythmically from one foot to the other. Souji was quick to unsheath his sword, gritting his teeth in anticipation. Without giving the Shadow a chance to strike first, Souji rushed forward, slashing.

As Souji fought, doing his best to dodge attacks and deliver some of his own, Adachi began to talk, unbothered that Souji was too preoccupied to really listen. The only advantage Souji really had was that the Shadow's size made him slow-moving.

"Look at you, putting yourself in danger," Adachi said, his sentence punctuated with a shot from the Shadow's gun. Luckily, it had missed, but Souji stood stunned for a moment by the sound. "Do you think finding out the 'truth' about me is going to serve some kind of justice? Do you really think 'justice' even exists? Or maybe it's 'truth' that doesn't exist. After all, we all perceive things differently. As far as I'm concerned, I didn't kill anybody. But you'd disagree with that, wouldn't you?"

Souji was too busy trying to understand what Adachi was saying to focus. The Shadow raised a large, swollen arm, and brought it down in a fast sweep, knocking Souji from his feet. Souji hit the road, sliding, letting out a shout of pain. Adachi wasn't slowed in the slightest.

"You're saying you want to know my truth. But do you really care? Or are you just doing this because you're looking for a little excitement in your boring life? This was all pretty convenient for you, after all. Almost as soon as you arrived, this all got kick-started. That boring little country life you'd resigned yourself to suddenly wasn't so boring any more, was it? But that's only because you made the decision to get involved. Not out of a sense of justice. Not out of some kind of heroism. If you'd just wanted to solve the murders, you would have been chasing the same leads Dojima-san was chasing and never discovered the TV world at all. This was all just a game to amuse you. The sooner you understand that, the faster we can move on."

It felt like the Shadow was moving faster now. It lumbered towards him - Souji had barely gotten to his feet when it had already readied another attack, sending Souji flying back into the pavement. He felt his face connect with the asphalt and could taste a hint of blood in his mouth.

"Not to say that you're the only one," Adachi said - his voice sounded closer, then, just a little. Souji felt dizzy, his vision beginning to betray him. He pushed himself up with his hands, slowly coming to his feet. He needed to summon a Persona and have them heal him...but he couldn't go without his weapon, sitting several feet away. "And now we're getting to the heart of the matter. You were bored with your life in Inaba from the first day. But was your life in the city really that much better?" Souji stepped towards the weapon, but the moment he reached to grab it, the Shadow had knocked him down again.

He wasn't sure he could get up - not like this.

Why hadn't he listened to his team? Why hadn't he gone in with everyone else?

"Jeez...look at that pretty face." A shadow fell over Souji's vision, but it wasn't the monster he'd been fighting - it was Adachi instead. "Pathetic." Adachi was kneeled beside him, leaned over him, pressing a hand to Souji's face. It stung...but at least he wasn't being attacked any more. "You came all the way here to listen to what I had to say, it and turns out you couldn't hear a single word of it." He sighed, shaking his head. "Let's get you cleaned up."

Surely Souji hadn't heard that correctly. He tried to focus on Adachi, certain he was still in danger, but his eyes slid shut - he was only vaguely aware of the situation around him. There was shifting and sighing and movement, and after a while it seemed that Souji wasn't lying on the broken road any more. Wherever he was felt warm and comfortable, and someone was pressing a cool cloth to the scratches on his face...

When he opened his eyes, he didn't expect to see Adachi. To be fair, Adachi didn't look particularly caring - the expression on his face was more akin to amusement.

"There you are," he murmured. "That's good. I was getting a little sick of waiting for you."

Souji tried to jolt up in bed, but a sharp pain ran through him. Adachi blinked, putting a hand on his shoulder. The slightest bit of pressure made Souji relax back against the bed, too unwilling to—

It was then that he noticed where he was. Adachi had managed to get him back to the strange room - he'd placed Souji in the bed, pulled the covers around him, even scooted the chair over so he'd have a place to sit at Souji's bedside. Souji watched him, carefully, even more confused than he'd been before.

"Wondering why I'm here, huh? Why I bothered doing all this when I could have just gotten rid of you?"

"Among other things." Souji's mouth wasn't doing a very good job of cooperating - that Shadow had done a number on him. But Adachi had understood just fine - he leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, wet rag forgotten on the edge of Souji's pillow.

"You really aren't listening. I already told you - I put those girls in here because I wanted to. Because I could."

Souji couldn't say this conversation was heading in a very soothing direction, but he forced himself to listen, either way, trying to commit Adachi's words to memory.

"And I did that," he continued, "because I didn't have anything better to do. Get it now? At first, I just thought it was this town that was boring the hell out of me - I resented the whole place, and everybody in it. But after a while, I realized it wasn't just Inaba. It was everywhere, and everything. This whole world is shit. But I don't expect a kid like you to understand that."

Souji watched him carefully - Adachi's expression was a twisted look of bitterness, in every way. It was hard for Souji to see from such a negative point of view. Maybe things were sometimes boring in Inaba - and sure, maybe Souji had been bored at first, and that's why he'd agreed to try out Chie's urban legend about the Midnight Channel in the first place. But Igor always said he'd been pulled into all of this by fate, not by seeking out a way to relieve boredom. Then again...Adachi had probably been pulled into this by fate, too. Was it worth it to make the distinction?

Sometimes things could get bad - that was impossible to deny. But strong people always pulled through. Hisano, Yumi, Naoki, even the others on the investigation team - everyone had overcome something without giving up.

Adachi was different from them. That was evident.

"This isn't just a world inside a TV, you know," Adachi said, as if following Souji's line of thought. "It's a world created from people's unconscious thoughts and desires. So in a way, this world leaking out into the real world is what everyone out there wants. You can't deny that. You just think doing things your way is better and more interesting. That's where we disagree."

Souji frowned. Slowly, he tried to sit up, shifting and rising until he was sitting, back propped against the wall. Adachi watched him struggle silently, not moving to give him a hand.

"But everything runs its course," he said, finally, letting out a sigh. "This is boring, too. Get a grip and go home. When you're ready, bring your friends back here and we'll have a real party."

Adachi moved to stand from the chair, but Souji forced his mouth to open, stopping him: "Is that really what you want?"

Adachi blinked, then laughed - it was more like the light, carefree laugh he used to give, months ago. "I was pretty clear about what my goals are, wasn't I? But I'm flexible on the details. I could decide to keep you here, if you promise to be entertaining."

Souji scoffed, looking away - Adachi teasing him was hardly what he wanted right now. Even if there had been moments of fleeting attraction and confused feelings before, nothing like that could exist now. Souji wouldn't let it. The light brushes of skin when Adachi had offered to help do the dishes from dinner and "accidentally" brushed hands, the strange smiles - none of those things had been real. None of it had meant anything.

"After all," Adachi continued, "I _am_ a little fond of you, even if you are a pain in the neck."

"I'm not staying here," Souji said, making every word as forceful as he could. "I'm going home."

"Suit yourself." Adachi stood from his chair, pushing it back as he did. When Souji looked down long enough to get himself situated to start pushing himself off the bed, Adachi disappeared.

Despite looking like he'd been in a fight, Souji managed to slip out of Junes without attracting any attention and started home. He felt terrible - his head was pounding, he felt dizzy and nauseous, and he was pretty sure he had more than his fair share of scrapes and bumps. He wanted to get home, soak in the bath, and stop thinking about Adachi Tohru and the way his mouth curved and shoulders slouched and voice rose and fall. It wasn't as if Adachi had been _serious_ about keeping Souji with him. Even if he had, he'd just let a Shadow go berserk on him. Stopping it (how had he done that, anyway?) didn't mean he cared about Souji. It meant he'd decided Souji was less boring kicking and screaming than he was hanging lifeless from an antenna.

That weekend, Souji would take everyone into the TV world himself, and they'd chase Adachi down through that maze of police line and twisted metal and crumbling road. They'd corner him, they'd defeat him, and they'd force him out. It was too late for anything else.

As Souji slipped out of his clothes and sunk into the tub's steaming water, letting out a half-appreciative hiss, he repeated these facts to himself like a mantra, trying to craft them into an effective shield.


	4. 12/9 (day)

It was Friday, and Souji woke up shivering and aching - he tried three times to pull himself out of bed and get dressed, but all three ended in failure, one way or another.

Finally, he had to come to the realization that he wasn't getting to school. Reaching for his phone, sitting on the corner of his table, Souji flipped it open, peering at the screen through groggy and unfocused eyes, and sent a text to Yosuke.

_hey - not sure what's wrong, but I'm too sick to make it to school today. Tell everyone not to worry about me, it's prob just a cold. See you tomorrow._

There. With a snap, Souji closed his phone, pulled the covers over himself, and fell back onto his futon. It would be good to take medicine, but it was downstairs, and there was no way he was conquering those just yet.

His dreams, like most dreams when one is sick, were strange and disjointed - he saw the inside of Adachi's world, the pulsing black and red vortex and the endless stretch of road ahead of him. But he could hear Nanako laughing, and when he tried to turn to look, they were sitting at the table, and Nanako was clapping her hands together, happy about something. Souji couldn't seem to turn his head to look, even though he could hear a voice just behind him and to his right - a familiar voice, speaking in soft, hushed tones.

_"Everything runs its course. Right, Souji-kun?"_

Souji tried to open his mouth to refute, but he felt paralyzed.

He was at the train station, then, standing in front of his friends - they were all gathered around him, ready to send him off.

 _"Man, it sucks that you have to leave,"_ Yosuke was saying. He looked disappointed. _"Feels like time went by so fast!"_

 _"It's not like we didn't all know this was coming,"_ Yukiko said. _"Still...it's sad to see you go. It won't be the same around here without you."_

 _"Don't worry,"_ Souji said. His mouth was forming the words before he could stop himself. _"Everything runs its course."_

The fog was still thick, still curling at their ankles. Souji could feel a layer of sweat between his skin and his clothes. He tried to turn away—

—Only to stumble into Adachi, blinking, holding a wet dish in one hand that he was drying with a small towel in the other.

 _"Oops,"_ he said, grinning sheepishly, _"sorry about that, Souji-kun. I probably shouldn't try to move around while I'm doing this, should I? If I broke one of Dojima-san's dishes, I'd probably be on paperwork duty for a month."_

This wasn't a dream, exactly. It was different - it was a memory. Souji tried to remember how he'd answered before, but his head was buzzing.

It didn't matter. Before he'd even gotten a word out, Adachi was already reacting - as if the scene was carrying on with or without him. _"Don't tell him I said that, though,"_ he said, his voice low. He was still smiling, leaning into Souji, passing him the clean dish. Souji took it with shaking hands. _"Dojima-san's lucky to have you around to help out! He's working so much that I guess all the housework gets shoved off onto you and Nanako-chan, huh?"_

Souji swallowed. His throat felt tight and constricted. Back then, he hadn't known anything about Adachi's true self, or even suspected Adachi could have been the culprit...he'd probably given a simple, carefree answer. For now, he stood frozen, the warm plate in hand. Adachi stacked the next one on top.

 _"I should get a helper like you, too."_ Adachi laughed. _"Or maybe I'll just have you come over and clean up my place."_ He suddenly looked up, surprised. _"Er, don't worry! It was just a joke."_

When he handed Souji the next plate, their hands touched, and Adachi brushed the tips of his fingers over Souji's knuckles. He didn't pull away - instead, he leaned in, his lips touching Souji's ear.

This wasn't a memory. This was different.

_"But this can't last either, you know. Everything runs its course."_

\----------

At some point, Souji woke. He opened his eyes, peering past his covers - light was still streaming in through the windows, filtering past the curtains. Groggily, Souji reached for his phone. There were two texts, and Souji opened them, squinting to read.

_no problem man. Let me no if u need anything. School wasnt the same w/o u partner!!!_

It was clearly from Yosuke. Souji smiled a little, then opened the next. It didn't have a sender, just a one-word message:

_Everything._

Souji stared at the message for a long time as the memory of his dream suddenly pushed through. A chill went up his spine - what the hell was this text? What the hell did it mean?

Without thinking, he stumbled from his futon, grabbed for his uniform, and pulled it on. His head was still killing him and his dizziness hadn't faded, but there was something in his chest forcing him to move, and he had no idea how to stop it.

Somehow, he'd made it to Junes. Now standing in the electronics department, Souji faced the large display TV, trying to ignore how awful he felt. In the middle of the day like this, there were even less people at Junes than usual - Souji had seen a few housewives here and there, mostly grocery shopping, but there weren't any housewives looking to purchase a new TV, and it afforded him a little bit of privacy.

But Souji didn't spend much time considering his options - and within moments, he had jumped into the TV world.

"It's almost like you miss me," Adachi said. This time, when Souji had walked into the room, Adachi had already been there, sitting in the chair, toying with his gun. He watched Souji carefully, his eyes dark. The room already wasn't lit well, but now, it seemed darker than usual. "Or maybe you've been thinking about what I said."

Souji swallowed. "In a way," he offered.

"You look like shit." Adachi slipped the gun onto the bed, standing and heading towards the doorway. Souji tried to keep from shrinking down or showing any sign of intimidation. For a long moment, Adachi just watched him, unmoving. "You're really not here to save me," he said, finally.

Souji shook his head. "After everything you've done...I can't stop what's already in motion."

"That makes two of us." The corners of Adachi's mouth turned up, his eyes seeming to flicker with a spark of light. "But even if I could, I wouldn't. I guess we'll have to see which will is stronger. Or which 'truth' is stronger, if you want to think of it that way."

Souji nodded.

Adachi stuffed his hands into his pockets, letting out a sigh. "Jeez. All this semi-civil conversation isn't doing much for that 'bad guy' cred," he complained, turning back towards his chair. "So let's not waste my time. You didn't come here to tell me you're still planning on bringing your friends in here for the whole elaborate Super Sentai act. You have another reason for bothering me."

If he hesitated now, he'd never get it out. Souji swallowed around the lump in his throat. This was part of it - part of that "truth". He had to know how much of Adachi had been act. All of it? Some of it? And why?

"Why did you used to flirt with me?" he asked.

It was quiet for a moment, before Adachi suddenly laughed. "What...that? You came to ask me about _that_?" He shook his head - in the low light, his expression was hard to read, but his eyes were wide, lips slightly parted. "Of all the questions you could ask, you want to know— why?" Adachi suddenly redirected his sentence, his eyes moving towards Souji with carefully measured emotion. "Don't tell me you're _interested_."

The room was tense and silent - Souji shifted from one foot to another. "I want to—"

"Oh, I get it." Adachi shook his head again, brushing a hand through his hair. Souji noticed suddenly that the other hand was holding his gun again (when had he grabbed that?) and his heart jolted, but his feet stayed stubbornly planted where they were. "This is about that 'truth' thing again. You want to know, minute by minute, what was real and what I made up. Is that it?"

Souji didn't answer, his mouth firmly shut. Adachi watched him for a minute - Souji almost expected him to force an answer at gunpoint, like he had two days ago - but instead, Adachi suddenly crossed the room, a quick pattern of taps of dress shoes on wood, until he was standing just in front of Souji, almost uncomfortably close. In the chill of the room, Souji almost thought he could feel Adachi's body heat, pressing in on his own.

"Maybe this can help you understand," he said, and he grasped the back of Souji's head with his free hand, leaned in, and pressed their mouth together.

For a long moment, Souji stood there, unmoving, shocked.

He didn't exactly have a lot of experience kissing. He'd kissed a girl once in grade school and she'd burst into tears (oops). There'd been a girl he liked in middle school, but they'd barely been able to hold hands without feeling embarrassed. (Once, he and Yosuke had kissed, but that had been...a mess.)

Standing there now, with Adachi's lips on his, wasn't like anything Souji had experience with - but even if he'd wanted to try to enjoy it...he knew he shouldn't. Adachi might have been his friend, but he was also a murderer. He'd killed two people, he'd directed Namatame's actions, he was the reason Nanako was in trouble...Souji couldn't like this, but his mouth was already relaxing against Adachi's kiss, his body was already responding to the way Adachi had pulled the back of his hair.

This was dangerous. Adachi had a gun in his hand, and Souji already knew he had no qualms firing it. Even so, he pressed his lips back against Adachi's, his mouth overly slick with spit, even parting his lips just slightly when Adachi flicked past them with his tongue.

Adachi let out a soft chuckle, pulling back just a bit.

"Well, well. I didn't think you'd be so _eager_."

Souji opened his eyes just in time to see Adachi staring into him, a dark, greedy look. Before Souji could think of anything at all to say, Adachi had pressed his body against him, forcing him back against the doorframe. When Adachi opened his mouth to start talking again, Souji took advantage of the opening and forced their mouths together again, nervously taking the initiative to push his tongue into Adachi's mouth. He had no idea what he was doing - he wasn't even sure _why_ he was doing it. All logic dictated he should run, but...

It turned out those fleeting moments of desire weren't so fleeting after all - and they hadn't disappeared just because Adachi had been the culprit, no matter how much Souji wished they had.

Regardless, right now, kissing was the best idea he had. Anything to keep Adachi from talking again about despair and boredom and his pointedly incomprehensible motivations. Without anything else to do, Souji's hands moved up to curl in the lapels of Adachi's suit jacket - they'd felt far to awkward at his side. Adachi seemed encouraged by this, giving another quick pull to Souji's hair - it was sharp, and a little painful, but for some reason...Souji liked it.

That feeling of pleasure melted away, though, when he felt the gun barrel poking against his side. His eyes shot open, tongue retreating into his mouth. Adachi's eyes slowly opened, and he smirked - they were so close that Souji could _feel_ the slow curve of Adachi's lips, more than he could see it.

"Scared?" he asked. "If I wanted to kill you, I could have done that plenty of times by now."

Souji sucked in quick breaths of air, trying to calm his heartbeat. "I should go," he said, even though he had absolutely no intention of moving. Adachi's hand tightened on the back of his head, and that jolt of pain he hadn't realized he liked so much ran through him again. Souji, already having a difficult time keeping himself together, felt his knees suddenly going weak.

"No," he breathed, "you're staying right here." His hand moved from Souji's hair to his collar, and he yanked Souji away from the door, pulling him into the room proper. Adachi didn't move the gun, though, as he pulled Souji towards the room's bed, pushing him onto it. Souji had to admit, he was thankful for the chance to get off his feet, but when Adachi was quick to sit beside him, gun still in hand, he felt the tiniest bit of trepidation. This would be scary even _without_ a gun, and even _without_ Adachi - adding both of those things to the equation made Souji's heart pound against his ribcage.

For once, Adachi didn't waste time talking. He grasped the back of Souji's head again, pulling their heads together - slipping back into a kiss was easier - Souji felt like he was going back into (relatively) more familiar territory, and he did his best to relax and enjoy the jolting sensations shocking through his body - until suddenly, Adachi's grip got a little tighter, and he started to pull.

Before Souji knew it, Adachi's back was against the mattress, Souji was practically sitting on top of him, and Adachi was staring up at him with the most self-satisfied expression Souji thought he'd ever seen on his face.

And of course, there was still that gun.

"Don't forget," Adachi murmured, "I've got the upper hand." He pressed the tip of the barrel harder against Souji's side. "I'm the one in control."

Souji grit his teeth. Adachi could think whatever he wanted, but _he_ was the one who started all of this - if Adachi wanted to act smug and in control, it was time for Souji to get over his uncertainty and trepidation and just _do_. Sex didn't come with an instruction manual - he had to try to follow his instinct. It wasn't going to work all the time, but if he looked unsure and hesitant, he'd look weak. He wasn't going to give Adachi that satisfaction.

Souji leaned down, hands planted on the mattress at either side of Adachi's head, and captured his mouth in a kiss. Then, experimentally, he shifted until their hips were more closely aligned, legs straddling Adachi's body, and pressed their bodies together, rolling his hips. The friction from the movement caught him off guard - he hadn't expected it to be quite that good, and he let out a surprised sort of half-moan into Adachi's mouth that he quickly tried to stifle away.

Adachi caught it anyway, and he laughed a low, dark, breath laugh.

"You know what you're doing, huh?" he asked. "That's not surprising - someone with a face like yours—" He sucked in a sharp breath, as Souji sat up, moving a hand to yank at the knot on Adachi's tie, "—you're probably a slut."

Souji's fingers faltered at that, and he was momentarily jarred out of his actions, gaping down at Adachi in shock. There was a word he'd never been called before. Adachi opened his own eyes, then smirked, reminding Souji of the gun with a quick jab to his side.

"Keep going, you little bitch," he muttered, his voice low. "Show me what you know."

"I'm doing this," Souji clarified, forcefully pulling off Adachi's tie and discarding it, "because I _want_ to." Not because of Adachi's threats, veiled or otherwise. And if Adachi wanted to call him those things, well...it didn't disgust Souji nearly as much as it probably should have - especially when Adachi kept a firm and steady grip in his hair.

"Of course you do." Adachi moved to grip one of Souji's hips, pressing down into it, pushing his own hips upward in an impatient gesture. "But you could stand to do things a little bit faster." And then, he set down the gun for just a moment, using both hands to reach up, pulling Souji's school jacket from his shoulders and tossing it to the floor.

In minutes, they were both naked from the waist up, and Souji's fever was doing nothing to help how overheated he was. Without a shirt in the way, Adachi's gun barrel was cold against his skin, but it was almost a nice feeling - definitely a sign he was too warm.

Adachi didn't seem to care. They moved hips together, pressing hard erections against each other's bodies. It almost didn't seem real, that something like this could really happen, but Adachi was there, underneath him, panting and cursing and murmuring under his breath - and Souji wasn't keeping it together much better.

"You're not going to come without letting me see your cock," Adachi said, his voice harsh and rough, and Souji's hands moved almost too quickly to his belt and pants, undoing the buckle, button and then the zipper - he had to pull away for a moment to work them down his thighs, and Adachi reached out, hooking thumbs in Souji's underwear and pulling. Unrestricted, Souji's erection slightly sprang forward, and Adachi smirked, quick to take it in his hand. Souji hissed, eyes squeezing shut - but he didn't stop moving, feeling around for Adachi's belt and zipper, too.

"You want me to fuck you?" Adachi breathed, his voice almost lost between their breaths. "Are you really that desperate?"

There was no way Souji was deigning to give _that_ an answer - but Adachi already knew.

Long minutes of awkward, uncomfortable prep-work almost shut the entire process down, but with Adachi's hand moving up and down against Souji's erection, it was hard to lose their chemistry completely. Adachi wasn't at all encouraging, and Souji had to admit, when Adachi pressed into him, Souji slowly, slowly trying to ease down as much as he could at first, it hurt like hell.

" _Fuck_ ," Adachi gasped, shifting, pressing up, trying to seek more. Souji tried to brace himself without tightening any muscles - not exactly an easy feat. "Does that hurt?"

"Do you care?" Souji whispered, the answer coming out a little more bitter than he'd hoped for. Adachi laughed, a breathy, choked sort of laugh.

"You can take it."

Movement was slow at first - paced, measured. As much as Adachi wanted to throw caution to the wind, Souji wasn't going to allow that, and being on top offered him more control than he'd realized at first (much to Adachi's dismay). Eventually, they worked out something quicker, and with Adachi's gun pressed into his lower ribs and Adachi's hand pumping against his erection, Souji did his best to move together, up and down, shocked at the sensation of having something inside of him. It was definitely going to take some getting used to...but after a while, it started to feel good. There was a funny shock of pleasure when they moved just the right way - and Adachi, quivering and hissing and sweating underneath him, was obviously enjoying himself.

"Maybe I really should have kept you yesterday," he gasped, pressing his head back against the mattress. "Shit— _Souji_ — you...you dirty fucking—"

It was too much. Souji couldn't hold on. He dug his fingernails into Adachi's shoulders, leaving half-moon indents behind, his eyes squeezing shut as his back seemed to spasm and his cock twitched. He came, thin white spurts of sticky liquid he wasn't unaccustomed to - but had definitely never seen against some else's skin before. They stopped for just a moment, heaving breath, and then Adachi suddenly abandoned the gun, putting both hands on Souji's hips, doing his best to move him. Souji got the picture, and started bouncing as quickly as his knees and thighs would allow - Adachi's nails dug into _Souji's_ skin, too, fingertips pressing into his hips so hard Souji wondered if they would bruise. Minutes later, Adachi was spent too, and for long moments, they stayed frozen, panting against each other, unable to break the moment.

But everything ran its course. Souji eventually pulled away, and Adachi's hands slid from Souji's hips. He did the best he could at cleaning himself off with the bed sheet, and grabbed for his clothes, yanking them back on. Adachi did the same, a little more casually - he was clearly pleased with himself.

"You'd better run back to your little friends now," Adachi said, slipping back into his suit jacket. "You don't want them to notice you're gone."

Souji stood in the doorway, his lips pressed together, his heart still trying to find a steady pace. "This doesn't change anything," he said, carefully. "We're still coming."

"At this point," Adachi said, securing his tie in place, "I think I'd be disappointed if you didn't."


End file.
